MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity
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@Ghost said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
There are people who don't want to see (example) white straight men play anything other than.
The problem with this is that a lot of times people put out feelers about their IRL identity in games. The fact that I've always gravitated to RPing women, along with the facts that I don't participate in TS and don't get anything sexual out of roleplaying women, was one of the (many) puzzle pieces that led to me coming out to myself.
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@Rinel Right. When I wrote that I wasn't critiquing; though I've always believed that the point of making a character is to make some new perspective or skin to explore and not to write some idealized Second Life avatar of oneself. When the game/scene/player disappoints you there's less risk of internalizing. (Again, this is just how I rolled; I can't qualify what is best for others)
As far as I'm concerned, RP whatever you please, and I support exploration into the perspective of different genders, specialities, religions, species, etc.
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I think anyone can play anyone, provided they treat the concept with respect and remember that people are people, and not just "elves are a small, lithe people who excel at poverty."
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@saosmash said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
"elves are a small, lithe people who excel at
povertyarchery."^
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@TNP said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
Does Neverwinter Nights on AOL count?
Or Gemstone III on GEnie?
The Sierra Network?Those would put me in the 28-29 years ago range. I don't recall which was my first actual Mush. Maybe Dragonsfire Moo which was a Pern game.
Yes, yes and yes? I was around for those days. But I think my first real mu*s, as in 'use telnet to get to them' were Atlantis and Teleplay, which were also supported by dial up(!) in Silicon Valley back before the Internet was a thing. I remember having to buy a specialized service from AT&T to use telnet and avoid long-distance fees when I moved away from San Jose and wanted to keep playing.
Edit: Holy crap, I just checked some old paper work and that was 31 years ago.
I'm not sure how I feel about this.
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Good golly. Some people have been at this longer than I've been alive
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@Joyeuse That may be so, but people have made successful entrance much younger. I don't think ageism has ever really been one of our -isms in here.
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@Joyeuse said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
Good golly. Some people have been at this longer than I've been alive
Eh, experience is lovely, but talent and enthusiasm are more important in RP. And reliability. And sanity. And ... a lot of things, come to think of it.
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@Bad-at-Lurking said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
Eh, experience is lovely, but talent and enthusiasm are more important in RP. And reliability. And sanity. And ... a lot of things, come to think of it.
This. I don't care how old somebody is as long as they can RP decently and aren't a creeper/jerk OOCly.
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Right! I'd never not RP with someone over something like age, it's just shocking to me how long some people have stuck with it. I guess I'm kind of hoping for the same sort of experience and passion!
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@Bad-at-Lurking said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
Yes, yes and yes? I was around for those days. But I think my first real mu*s, as in 'use telnet to get to them' were Atlantis and Teleplay, which were also supported by dial up(!) in Silicon Valley back before the Internet was a thing.
Yeah, I wasn't including the bulletin board systems I'd dial into. Remember how excited you were to get a new modem with a higher baud rate? Good-bye 300 baud! And it seemed so fast.
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@TNP said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
Good-bye 300 baud!
Hi, Australia here. When do we get that?
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@TNP Ancient Mushers unite! We have nothing to lose but our reading glasses. And our pills. Possibly dentures. Where did I leave my cane this time?
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It's not really that the player is different from the character so much as when they are clearly fetishizing not only their character but everyone else RL that they perceive as being that. That is why sometimes it sets off the creep factor, sometimes it doesnt.
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To comment on something that's been brought up a few times so far, I suppose I should state my own personal stance on this sort of representation! There's no reason that someone can't play something they aren't. If that were the case, there likely would never have been a single book published that wasn't strictly non-fiction. However, like has also been brought up, some people play it as a caricature or fetishization of what they're wanting to play, and some even thinking of it as 'playing well' -- speaking with experience from other RP communities.
Something I've noticed as a trans person (emphasis to play off Rinel, also some more stuff based on other RP communities), is there's like three levels of interaction with the idea. There's the usual, where it's just never brought up, like in most RP, and it just another facet of a well-rounded character. There's the occasional exceptional roleplayer who is in the know and is down to incorporate such themes into personal roleplay as a means of personal growth or development - or at least the development of the relationship. And, finally, there's the TS hounds I've mentioned earlier, most of whom are straight/bi men who like to play with the idea of (forgive me for even using this phrase) 'traps not being gay'. Either in a romantic context, where constant reference is made to certain 'tells' of transness, or in others, where emphasis is placed on that blurring of orientation.
It's squick.
But I generally don't conceal it, and wear that sort of identity openly on my sleeve, so that it's easier to come to the notice of others! Foster a sense of community, etc. Solidarity and all that. Definitely outweighs the cons.
@Rinel said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
The problem with this is that a lot of times people put out feelers about their IRL identity in games. The fact that I've always gravitated to RPing women, along with the facts that I don't participate in TS and don't get anything sexual out of roleplaying women, was one of the (many) puzzle pieces that led to me coming out to myself.
I also had a similar experience to this, when I first started playing tabletop games. A long, arduous process.
@Ghost said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
As far as I'm concerned, RP whatever you please, and I support exploration into the perspective of different genders, specialities, religions, species, etc.
This! This is good. It's just a matter of research and being able to respectfully portray something that you aren't. Which is easier for some than others.
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@Joyeuse said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
There's the occasional exceptional roleplayer who is in the know and is down to incorporate such themes into personal roleplay as a means of personal growth or development - or at least the development of the relationship. And, finally, there's the TS hounds I've mentioned earlier, most of whom are straight/bi men who like to play with the idea of (forgive me for even using this phrase) 'traps not being gay'. Either in a romantic context, where constant reference is made to certain 'tells' of transness, or in others, where emphasis is placed on that blurring of orientation.
I'm not personally comfortable with playing a trans-character. I feel that I will fall into a number of the stereotypes, and I don't want to do that. I have played several queer characters, and have interacted with intersexed and transgender PCs, but that's about it.
Play what you want and are comfortable with, I figure. Hopefully, that comfort level includes playing a character that has more than one or two layers, but to each their own.
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One piece of advice I've gotten regarding writing cultures or identities that I am not is: Write the characters, but not the stories. That is to say, write about a black guy, but don't write about being black.
I feel that I could roleplay any kind of character, but I could not reasonably roleplay out a story about their identity or their race (or whatever else) as I don't have their experience.
He/Him
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@Ganymede Oh! Yeah, I'd never ask anyone to play something they aren't comfortable with. Nor would I think any less of anyone because of what they are/aren't uncomfortable with.
And I generally try to have a character beyond orientation/identity. Usually. Sometimes it's just easy to plop in a self-insert when inspiration is hard.
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@Tinuviel said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
One piece of advice I've gotten regarding writing cultures or identities that I am not is: Write the characters, but not the stories. That is to say, write about a black guy, but don't write about being black.
I know too many black people to be comfortable with omitting mention of them being black.
“It is better to live doing the things that you like. It is foolish to live within this dream of a world seeing unpleasantness and doing only things that you do not like.” -- Yamamoto Tsunetomo.
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@Ganymede said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
@Tinuviel said in MU*, Youth, and LGBT+ Identity:
One piece of advice I've gotten regarding writing cultures or identities that I am not is: Write the characters, but not the stories. That is to say, write about a black guy, but don't write about being black.
I know too many black people to be comfortable with omitting mention of them being black.
That's not what I meant. Being black is a fine thing to mention. The struggles a black person faces aren't really something I can accurately write or play, given that I've never faced those issues.
He/Him
